


Healing

by Samking



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Healing, Spacemarried Week, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 16:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3698819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samking/pseuds/Samking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hera falls ill with a deadly disease that has been running rampant among the Twi'lek population in the Empire. Worried Kanan reaches out the Rebellion for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing

Looking back Kanan should have known something was wrong when Hera was not already in the kitchen when he entered the kitchenette that morning, at first he had thought that he’d woken up a bit earlier than usual, he’d been awoken by another nightmare, but when Zeb and Ezra were there not too long after him as usual he knew that she had slept in. Sabine was always the last to get up, she was not much of a morning person, typical teenager. Ezra if allowed would get to be as bad as she was, thank goodness he had Zeb for a roommate. Zeb was a morning person, and he was loud which meant that so long as Ezra roomed with him he too would be up early. “Where’s Hera?” Ezra asked as Kanan slowly sipped his second cup of caf.

“She’s sleeping in.” Kanan said, “Your waffles, Zeb are nearly done.”

When Sabine stumbled into the common area nearly an hour later and there was still no sign of Hera, Kanan began to worry. He wasn’t the only one, Ezra had been quietly pacing near the hallway to his and Hera’s separate quarters for nearly a quarter of an hour now. No one said anything as he stood up from where he’d been sitting around the holo chess table and walked towards her room. His mind raced with scenarios as to why she hadn’t come out to join them, they ranged from harmless to wildly outrageous. As he reached her door he glanced back down the hall to the others, Ezra and Zeb looked on a bit concerned, while Sabine looked a bit confused. One of the others would fill her in while he spoke to Hera, or woke her up, whichever.

“Hera.” He said quietly hoping the others couldn’t hear them. He knocked on the door once before calling for her again. Then with a sigh he punched in the overriding code that would let him into her room. It was an invasion of privacy he had promised himself to only use in emergencies, both of them needed their privacy. “Hera, I’m coming in.”

She laid on her bunk, wrapped up in a blanket, shivering. Ryloth was a warm planet, but she’d never complained about the chillness before. “Kanan.” she whispered, barely looking up to see him, the door slid shut behind him, blocking the others from hearing their conversation. She looked a paler shade of green than usual from what little of her body he could see. He could sense though that something was wrong. And then it hit him.

“How bad is it?” He asked tersely. How long had she been sick and not told anyone? Acted fine, and no one had questioned her health. She was always so willing to put everyone else before her, neglecting her health till she was this bad.

“Bad.” she whispered hoarsely. “Its call Ryloth Fever.” He made a gaping sound, he’d heard of that disease once from a smuggler he worked for before he worked on Gorse, the smuggler had been smuggling Twi’lek refugees from Ryloth to another planet, and one of the refugees had had Ryloth Fever. He’d died within a week into their journey but not before infecting three of the other refugees, only one whom survived. It was dangerous for Twi’leks, though it couldn’t be spread to other species, before the Empire it had been all but wiped out from the galaxy, now because of the Empire’s lack of care it would run rampant on Ryloth once more.

“How?” They hadn’t been in contact with any other Twi’leks in months, and the disease didn’t have that long of an incubation period. He took a step closer to her, trying to figure out what to do next. It was obvious that she needed medical treatment, that was the only way she would survive, but where? They couldn’t on Lothal because of their statuses as a wanted criminal, and probably any of the surrounding systems either.  

“A contact, I think. Ahsoka had me go out and meet a contact who had recently come back from one of Ryloth’s moons.” Hera said. “She didn’t display any symptoms, but I suspect she might have only been half Twi’lek, they aren’t as susceptible to the disease as full Twi’leks are, but they can pass it on.” Kanan sat down beside her on the bunk trying not to allow the hopelessness he was starting to feel overwhelm him or show. She would know though, she always knew. “Its okay, Love.” she said softly to him, barely able to reach up and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

“We need to get you to a med facility.”

“The mission comes first.”

“There won’t be a mission if you don’t get to a med facility and I think Ahsoka  would agree with me. The Rebellion needs people like you, Hera. People who really believe in the movement like you do and are good at recruiting, plus you’re an excellent pilot.” He almost smirked at the small huff she let out when she knew he was right. But his concern for her well being outweighed the pride of being right.  “I’ll contact Ahsoka, okay.” He kissed her lightly on the temple. “Is there anything you need right now?”

“Another blanket, and some water.”

“Okay, I’ll send one of the others in with that while I contact Ahoska.” He promised, he stood up, and began to walk to the door, glancing back at her more than once. She had to get better, he’d let go of fear, let go of running away, but still the thought of losing her made him want to shout at the Force. He didn’t want to lose her, but like this seemed even worse than if he lost her in a fire fight fighting the Empire. At least then it would feel like her death would mean something.

“Chopper, I need you in the cockpit.” He shouted at Hera’s orange astromech droid. Then he turned to the common area where Zeb and Sabine sat around the holo chess table. Sabine was sipping a cup of caf. Ezra was still pacing off to the side, he stopped as soon as he saw Kanan.

“Is she okay?” Ezra asked. Kanan sighed, he couldn’t hide it, but he was worried how the others would take it, Ezra especially.  He had expressed concerns about losing his family once again, Kanan wasn’t sure how he was going to take how sick Hera was.

“She’s- Hera is,” Kanan fumbled for his words, not sure quite how to explain to them, to Ezra how sick she was. Hera was the strong one, the one that held them all together, without her their family might not make it. “Hera is sick. Sabine, could you get her some water and another blanket. I need to go speak to Ahsoka.” Sabine nodded, and went to one of the supply closets and the kitchen to find what Hera had requested. Kanan turned to go into the cockpit where Chopper awaited him so they could call Ahsoka.

“I see,” Ahsoka said as Kanan told her about Hera, about their dilemma as being known criminals in the system and that they couldn’t take her to any medical centers on Lothal because of it. The Torgruta stepped away from the holo communication for a moment and Kanan tried not to sigh impatiently. He wasn’t sure how long Hera had left, if she’d gotten the disease when she thought she had, she’d had it for nearly a week now. The refugee on the smuggler's ship had barely lasted more than that. “Ord Mantell, go to Ord Mantell, there is a medical facility there run by a Dr. Narwa. I will let him know that you are on your way. Ahsoka out.” The feed cut off, and Kanan sighed. Ord Mantell was a long ways out from Lothal, at least two days in hyperspace travel. Could she make it that long? He glanced backwards to the common area where the rest of the crew was, she would have to. He wasn’t sure they could make it together without her.

“Chopper, get the Ghost read for take off.” He told the droid as he stood up, he would have to tell the crew where they were going and what exactly was going on.

First he stopped in to check on Hera, even though it hadn’t even been half an hour since he’d last been in there. She had her back facing the door, but it would appear that she was sleeping for now. He would tell her later then what Ahsoka had said, that they couldn’t lose Hera, she was vitally important to the Rebellion. Then he walked into the common area, ignoring Chopper’s complaints that were stemming from the cockpit about how much work he was doing. “Sabine said that Hera was really sick.” Ezra said standing up from the chair he’d been sitting on.

“She is.” Kanan confirmed. “It’s a disease called Ryloth Fever and only Twi’leks can get. It attacks the nervous system of a Twi’lek and will eventually enter the brain stem in the lekkus and kill them. It had been running rampant on Ryloth since their failed revolt seven years ago. We’re going to go to Ord Mantell for treatment.” The others nodded, Zeb was oddly silent, and had a far away look in his eyes.

“She’s going to be alright?” The Lasat asked, fiddling with a piece of string or something between his fingers. Kanan wanted to lie, to tell them all that of course Hera was going to be fine, because when was she not.

“I don’t know.” Then he turned around and headed back for the cockpit, with Hera sick in bed that left him as the only person who knew how to pilot the Ghost.

~Spacemarried week~

Ahsoka met them on Ord Mantell, she lead them to the clinic that was run by Dr. Narwa who turned out to also be a Torgruta. Kanan carried Hera, he’d spent the last two days alternating between piloting (not that there was much to do with that while in hyperspace as long as the hyperdrive was working) and taking care of Hera so that she would survive long enough to make it to Ord Mantell. The planet had a bit of a shady past, being involved in a huge battle between Separatist forces and the Black Son during the Clone War at one point. He’d never learned too much of the details of what happened, but the planet fifteen years later, still showed signs of the fallout from that attack. Dr. Narwa’s clinic was in a more upscale neighborhood of Ord Mantell then Kanan had originally thought.

“Nurse!” He shouted as soon as they entered, “Nurse Ima, is that bed ready for the patient we had coming in?” A female Togruta stepped out of a nearby room.

“Yes sir.” She said, and beckoned Kanan to take Hera into the room she’d just stepped out of. He could hear Dr. Narwa and Ahsoka speak outside in the hallway in front of the others. Ezra had been shifting impatiently since they’d arrived on Ord Mantell, and Sabine kept glancing over at Hera’s seemingly lifeless form in his arms. She’d fallen asleep yesterday and hadn’t woken up since. The nurse hooked her up to a few machines and then turned to him. “Are you her husband, sir?”

“Yes.” Kanan lied, he doubted they would let him stay if he told them that they were partners in the newly formed Rebel Alliance. Officially that was all they were, unofficially she meant so much more to him, and he to her, though they rarely spoke on it.

“The disease is in a very advanced state.” The nurse told him, “You must be prepared for the worst.” He nodded, gently stroking her shoulder and trying to accept what that would mean. Dr. Narwa came in and began to look over Hera, and Ahsoka motioned for Kanan to follow her out of the room.

“She’s in good hands here. Dr. Narwa is an expert in these sorts of diseases.” Ahsoka reassured him. “I am going to take the others out, if that’s okay with you.” Kanan nodded, he knew that none of them would want to sit around a waiting room, just waiting, not when they were used to doing something. They were men and women of action. “Trust the Force.”

“Okay.” He said, not sure if he really believed her or not about trusting in the Force, he’d spent too much time feeling like it had failed him to truly trust it at times. Trusting in the Force hadn’t saved Master Depa, or any of the others that had been killed that day.

Kanan watched as Ahsoka convinced the others to leave, Sabine had been the hardest to convince. But eventually they did leave, to do whatever mission Ahsoka was letting them tag along with leaving him alone in the waiting room. He wasn’t sure what kind of treatment Ryloth Fever would take, especially not if it had progressed as far as it had in Hera. He wished he had noticed sooner that she was sick, he should have noticed it sooner. He had always thought himself so attuned to the others in the Force that he would notice something like this. Hera though, she’d always had a way of preventing him from knowing things she didn’t want him to notice about her.

“Mr. Syndulla,” the nurse said coming out into the waiting area. It took Kanan a second to remember that they had entered Hera under her real name and he had claimed to be her husband which in most cases would mean they shared the same last name.

“Yes.” He said almost jumping out of his seat.

“Dr. Narwa wants you to come in.” Kanan followed the nurse back into Hera’s room and sat down in the chair beside Hera’s bed and took her limp hand into his, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand soothingly. Her hand was still warmer than it usually was, but wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been earlier today. Her other arm was connected to a drip that would be used to insert medications to her intravenously.

“Mr. Syndulla.” Dr. Narwa said, he sat down in another chair on the opposite side of Hera. The nurse hadn’t reentered the room after telling Kanan that he was wanted. “The disease has started to attack the brain stems in Hera’s lekkus. I believe though that we can prevent and reverse any damage that has been done by a combination of bacta treatment and carmo therapy. The carmo will attack the disease and remove it from the body, and the bacta will repair any damage that has been done. But there is a risk, the carmo will also greatly weaken the body if she isn’t strong enough it could kill her as well.” Kanan nodded, the odds of survival were starting to look up. “She is very lucky to be alive right now. I think her chances are good.” He looked down at Hera, and gently touched her right lekku where she was fighting off a disease that should have killed her days ago, she was a fighter and always had been for as long as he’d known her.

“How long of a recovery period?”

“Well, she’ll need at least three treatments of carmo and bacta. The carmo will leave her very weak even with bacta treatments it could be anywhere from five to six weeks.” Hera wasn’t going to like the sound of that when she woke up, it would probably be a nightmare to get her to follow doctor’s orders. The others would help, especially Sabine, the Mandalorian really looked up to Hera like a big sister, and the Twi’lek being this sick had rattled her.

“Okay.” He said taking a deep breath.

“If she is to survive we’ll need to start the first round of carmo therapy now. We just need your permission.” Dr. Narwa handed a datapad over to Kanan to sign. “You may stay here with her for this. Carmo therapy is a chemical mixture that will fight off the disease, unfortunately it also tends to kill off white blood cells that are also fighting the disease which is why she will be weak afterwards.” Dr. Narwa left the room for a few minutes giving Kanan sometime to collect his thoughts. He didn’t like seeing Hera like this, seeing her like this. He was glad the kids wouldn’t be here for this, Ezra would have a million and one questions for the doctor, and Zeb would try to intimidate him if he didn’t think that Dr. Narwa wasn’t doing his job properly. And Sabine, he wasn’t quite sure what Sabine would do, she always kept her cool in stressful situations, but she was really worried about Hera. She’d helped him out the most with Hera on the trip over to Ord Mantell, and she, one time, expressed her concern for Hera and how much this scared her. He knew this was really taxing her.

“You’re strong Hera, so very strong. Stronger than Master Depa, stronger than you father, you’ve survived so much. You can’t let this beat you, not now. You’re going to overcome this, and you’re going to come out stronger on the other side.” Kanan whispered, he lifted Hera’s hand in between his own bringing it up to rest his forehead on it.

Dr. Narwa came back in, a bag with a dark green solution in it which he hooked up to Hera’s drip. “This is the carmo.” He explained, “I will take her to the back where the bacta tanks are in about three hours.” Kanan nodded. He sat there while the doctors pushed the chemicals into her body, chemicals that could either kill her or save her life. Ryloth Fever had killed so many of her people, was killing so many of her people and he didn’t want her to be another one of the Empire’s many victims. Her survival would just have to be another way she had defied the Empire.

“You’re doing just fine.” He whispered, bending down to kiss her brow. “You’re going to be just fine.”

He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep sitting in the chair beside Hera’s bed, still holding her hand. The past three days caught up with him, and not even the Force could sustain him. But when he woke again night had fallen upon Ord Mantell and Hera was no longer in the bed beside him. Immediately he jumped to his feet and reached for his blaster. Had the Empire come, had they taken Hera? “Mr. Syndulla, are you okay?” the nurse asked, coming into the room with fresh sheets.

“Where’s Hera?” Kanan asked trying not to give way the worry in his voice.

“She’s in the bacta tank. She shouldn’t be in there too much longer actually.” The nurse said as she began to change the sheets on Hera’s bed. “Dr. Narwa doesn’t think it’ll be too much longer till she wakes up.”

“She hasn’t woken up yet?” Kanan asked quietly holstering the unnecessary blaster. He should have known that the Empire hadn’t taken Hera, Ahsoka wouldn’t have taken them to anyone she didn’t trust.

“No. But Dr. Narwa isn’t worried. Sleeping is the body’s natural way of fighting off infections and diseases. Its a safety mechanism.” The nurse explained as she fluffed the pillows. “You should get some more rest Mr. Syndulla, your wife will be just fine.” Kanan nodded, but stayed awake long enough to watch Hera be brought back in. He reached for hand once again just before he drifted off again.

“Kanan.” the voice was quiet and hoarse, but it gently pulled him away from his nightmare that had been suffering through. “Kanan.” Blearily he blinked his eyes open and saw Hera beside him, her green eyes open and looking at him. His hand was still in hers, and he moved to drop it, a bit nervous about how affectionate he’d been towards her while she had been sick. But she held onto it, and gave it a light squeeze and a gentle smile.

“Hera.” He said smiling at her. “How do you feel?” He used his other hand to brush her right lekku.

“Like the Ghost ran over me.” she said humorously. “Where are we?”

“A clinic on Ord Mantell, Ahsoka took us here.” He explained, “The others are with her and Phoenix Squadron, she thought it might be more conducive to your health to not have them all over the place.” Hera smiled weakly and nodded. “I- I was worried, Hera.”

“I know.” she replied squeezing his hand lightly again.

“I almost lost you.”

“I’m here now.” He nodded. She was in the clear, but she still had another five to six weeks of hard recovery. He leaned down and kissed her temple again. She didn’t protest the affection, just leaned into it more and let him lavish it on her.

“Oh, by the way.” He whispered as leaned down to kiss her lips. “They might think we’re married.”

~Spacemarried Week~

“Come on,” Ezra encouraged he stood on the other side of the hospital room with the hoverchair, Dr. Narwa wanted her to try walking. She had just undergone her fourth and final round of carmo therapy the day before, but Dr. Narwa was convinced by the latest scan that the Ryloth Fever was gone, no trace of it in her system. Hera grumbled something under her breath as Kanan helped her sit up. He would walk beside her as she walked to Ezra making sure she didn’t fall again.

Slowly she rose to her feet, pushing away Kanan’s helping hand and took a step forward. She wobbled a bit and he reached out to steady her. She took another step, and then another, she made it halfway across the room before her knees gave out and she began to fall. He caught her though, and he felt her shake in his arms. Carefully he lifted her up into his arms to carry her back to bed. They would try again tomorrow, she was only in her third week of recovery, and the disease had only completely left her brain stems officially yesterday, it was a bit early for her to be trying to walk. “Is she okay?” Ezra asked as Kanan laid her on the bed.

“She’ll be fine.” Kanan said quietly leading the teenager out of the room. “Why don’t you go back with Ahsoka and the others, give Hera a bit more rest. Come back in a few days, okay?”

“Okay.” Ezra agreed reluctantly. Then Kanan turned back to enter Hera’s room. She was laying on her side facing away from the door, her body shaking from silent sobs. Gently Kanan laid down on the bed beside her and held her.

He hated seeing her feel so defeated. She had taken five steps today instead of two like she had three days ago. That was progress, but it was slower than Hera wanted, she wanted to be running when she could hardly walk. “Why are you still here?” She asked, her voice muffled slightly by the pillow. “Why aren’t you with Ahsoka and Commander Sato? What use are you to the Rebellion here?”

“I’m here because you are here.” Kanan said softly, he reached out to touch her shoulder to turn her to face him. Then he used the pad of thumb to wipe the tear streaks from her face. “There is no Rebellion for me if you aren’t there.” It was she who had taken him in after Gorce, she who had been the first in ten years to know his secret long before anyone else had, she who had introduced him to the rebellion, she who knew everything about him, every secret he’d ever had.

“You are a complete idiot sometimes.” He shrugged, and gave her one of his smiles that he’d been famous for back when he’d been gallivanting across the galaxy. Then he pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin and held her till they fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> My first work for Spacemarried Week going on, on Tumblr. Topic of Day One is Healing Go check out what everyone's doing, it runs from April 6th to the 12th. I got this idea while in biology, we're studying cancer right now so yeah carmo was just a big rip off of chemo, I think I need to be a bit more creative, but thank you for reading anyway.


End file.
